The Future of Lifestyle Media

Lifestyle media is big business. And in a down economy, DIY culture (sewing, canning, etc.) has seen a trendy resurgence. But the lifestyle industry is rapidly changing. How can you break in? Once in, how do you stay current? This panel will first define the nebulous term “lifestyle media,” from national design magazines with full staffs to small, personal blogs headed by creative individuals. Who is the target market for lifestyle media? What do they want / need? How can you transition from being a lone, creative blogger to a nationally known resource? Second, we’ll discuss innovation in lifestyle media. Where is the innovation? How does the rise in online lifestyle media change the traditional media landscape? What’s the future of lifestyle media? Finally, we’ll discuss the nuts & bolts of lifestyle media. How do you hone your focus? Is your expertise more style-oriented? Are you a foodie? How can you channel your interests and knowledge in the right direction? Our panelists include the founder of one of the world's most popular design blogs, and editor-in-chief of a national lifestyle print magazine. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the relationship between print and online, and how major players in lifestyle media are working together.

About the speakers

Grace Bonney is the founder and editor-in-chief of Design*Sponge, a daily blog dedicated to the creative life. Since its founding in 2004, Design*Sponge has grown to cover a wide range of topics. In addition to hosting a yearly scholarship for student designers, artists, Design*Sponge published both its first newspaper and book this year, Design*Sponge at Home, which ended with a 30-city book tour that raised money for local arts charities across the country.

Camille Styles is the founder and editor of lifestyle blog camillestyles.com, where she shares the creative entertaining ideas that inspire her parties and her life. Camille is also a regular lifestyle contributor to HGTV.com and the host of HGTV’s new mobile party planning app. Her modern aesthetic and eye for detail come together to create parties that are simply chic and all about fun.

Tolly Moseley is the creator of AustinEavesdropper.com, which focuses on the creative culture of Austin and beyond. It was named "Best Local Blog" in Austin Chronicle's 2011 "Best of Austin" Awards. In 2010, Tolly was named one of the Top 25 Social Media People in Texas by the Austin American-Statesman. Tolly's writing has appeared in Salon.com, the national comedy showcase "Mortified" (where people read their adolescent diary entries to a roomful of strangers), Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, and numerous other regional magazines and websites. She works part-time at Austin's NPR affiliate, KUT 90.5.

Andrew Wagner is the current director of Krrb and the New York Times "What You Make of It" columnist. Most recently he served as the editor-in-chief/chief brand officer of ReadyMade magazine. Prior to joining ReadyMade in 2009 he served as the editor-in-chief of American Craft magazine. Wagner was also the executive editor and founding managing editor of Dwell magazine, where he helped push the boundaries of architecture and design journalism, garnering the publication the coveted American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) General Excellence Award in 2005. In 1997, Wagner founded LIMN, the unorthodox design and arts magazine published by the equally unorthodox furniture and design company of the same name, and served as its editor-in-chief until 2000. Wagner was also the founding editor of Dodge City Journal, a magazine dedicated to documenting life in America’s under-explored cities. Wagner has also served as a consulting editor at Places magazine and has been a guest lecturer at University of California Berkeley, Southern California Institute of Architecture, California College of the Arts and Columbia University. His writing has been published in, amongst others, Azure, Blueprint, Breathe, Loud Paper, Vanity Fair, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Travel and Leisure. He has also penned the forwards for Princeton Architectural Press’ Handmade Nation and Chronicle Books’ soon to be released Unhappy Hipsters as well as written chapters for Phaidon’s Vitamin Green series.